Auditor gives East Baton Rouge Parish a clean opinion but flags a child nutrition budget violation

External auditors from EisnerAmper told the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Jan. 8 that they will issue an unmodified (clean) opinion on the district’s FY2025 financial statements.

Amanda Strebeck, the engagement partner, said the audit was substantially complete and that the firm planned to file the report with the legislative auditor. Strebeck detailed several financial highlights: general-fund revenues of approximately $592,000,000 and expenditures around $595,000,000, leaving an end-of-year surplus of roughly $2,700,000 after other financing sources; a total fund-balance across funds of about $412,000,000; and an unassigned general-fund balance of approximately $106,000,000.

The auditors said the district adopted GASB 101 for compensated absences, which required adding an estimated $8,000,000 long-term liability and restating prior-year opening balances. EisnerAmper also audited federal programs and selected comprehensive literacy development (about $6.7 million) and Title I (about $34 million) for testing; no findings were reported on those programs.

However, auditors reported one compliance finding tied to the Child Nutrition Program and the Local Government Budget Act: when revenues or expenditures change by 5% or more, a budget amendment is required. The auditors found overspending in the child nutrition fund that required general-fund coverage; they did not identify evidence that funds were misspent or needed to be repaid to federal programs, but state law triggered a reportable finding.

The auditors also noted exceptions in agreed-upon procedures related to class-size counts (minor variances) and two statewide procedures reporting that harassment training was 50 minutes in one instance rather than the required 60 minutes; the statewide agreed-upon procedures require reporting such deviations even when they do not rise to significant noncompliance.

Board members asked for timing on representation letters and for additional detail on internal-service fund changes; auditors said representation letters would be dated and issued the following day and explained strategic decisions that led to fluctuations in internal-service fund net position.

The audit presentation closed with the firm noting no other reportable disagreements or matters requiring additional board disclosure.